Iran urges full elimination of nukes as NPT key principle

Iran's Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Reza Najafi has called for the complete annihilation of nuclear weapons as one of the main principles of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Full elimination of all nuclear arms in the world is the top priority of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Najafi said while reading out a statement at the 2015 Review Conference of the NPT on behalf of the 120-member body on Friday.

The statement emphasized that the NPT is not confined only to nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, saying nuclear states are obliged to take measures to eliminate nukes.

It added that the use of nuclear weapons is a crime against humanity and stressed the complete abolition of such arms as the only firm guarantee of their non-deployment.

The NAM states also expressed their profound concern over the nuclear-weapons based military doctrine of nuclear and NATO states.

Pointing to the lack of progress in the fulfillment of disarmament commitments by nuclear states, the NAM member countries said the delay in the eradication of nuclear weapons is worrying.

They emphasized that an unlimited extension of the NPT does not mean that nuclear weapons can be kept forever.

The statement said nuclear states must not threaten non-nuclear countries, which are signatories to the NPT, with nuclear weapons under any circumstances.

In the statement, Iran presented 20 specific proposals on behalf of the NAM states for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons and called for their inclusion in the final report of the 2015 Review Conference of the NPT.

Addressing the 2015 Review Conference of the NPT on Monday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the use of nuclear weapons or even the threat of use of such weapons is a crime against humanity.

"We firmly believe that any use or threat of use of nuclear weapons would be a crime against humanity and a violation of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law, in particular, international humanitarian law," Zarif said.

The Iranian foreign minister told Press TV earlier in the day that Israel is the main impediment to the universality of the NPT.

“Unfortunately, Israel’s possession of nuclear weapons and its refusal to engage with the international community has become the greatest impediment to the universality of this treaty,” Zarif told Press TV.

The Israeli regime is widely believed to be the sole possessor of a nuclear arsenal in the Middle East with up to 400 undeclared nuclear warheads. Tel Aviv has rejected global calls to join the NPT and does not allow international bodies to inspect its controversial nuclear program.